CocaCola Carousel
by RobinRocks
Summary: LxLight. “It’s only a stupid little dare, Ryuga,” I sigh, taking hold of his shoulders, though I should have known a girl would dare me to do something like this… Light’s POV.


And a Happy New Year to all who have stumbled upon this – my first update of 2008.

No rest for the wicked, mwa ha ha. :D

**The bad news: **My first update of 2008 **isn't** the new/first chapter of _Poison Apple_ Act III: _Danse Macabre_.

**The good news: **My first update of 2008 **is** in the _Death Note_ section; and it **is** LxLight!

AND I have entered a new frontier – as described in the summary, this fic is written in a first-person format, illustrating Light's POV. Hurrah.

This was written only a few days ago – and yet WAS WRITTEN LAST YEAR.

Kyah ha ha ha ha…!

Coca-Cola Carousel

I don't know why I agreed to this.

To coming to this stupid party; or to playing this stupid Spin-the-Bottle game; any of it, really. This isn't my kind of thing – mixing with these idiotic girls who think they're going to be the next world-famous fashion designer, or these moronic male computing or English Literature students, thinking they're really going to _get_ somewhere in life, that they're going to change the world…

These university parties are just a celebration of mediocrity, where these idiots can sit around drinking cheap wine, talking about how wonderful and influential their lives are going to be while they still have hope to cling to. After they graduate with a degree that reflects all these wasted nights sitting around drinking cheap wine and talking about how wonderful and influential their lives are going to be, they'll undoubtedly sink into some mundane office job, without even a sliver of a chance to change the world, and maybe even then they'll just sit around drinking cheap wine, bitterly reminiscing over those wasted years.

I could think of a hundred better things I'd rather be doing right now; things that are more constructive than sitting with a group of drunk, giggling classmates spinning an empty Coca-Cola bottle.

Ridding the world of the criminal classes, for example.

I don't know why I came; even _Ryuk_ got bored and floated off about an hour ago.

I know why Ryuga did, though. _He_ came because _I_ came.

This _really_ isn't his type of thing – he's not even making an effort to join in, sitting off on the couch by himself, curled up in that weird position he sits in, eating strawberry pocky.

He says he's my friend, tries to pass that off as the reason for his following me everywhere as though he's attached to me; but we both know that's not his motive. He follows me because he's L and thinks I'm Kira; which I am, and though sometimes having him breathing down my neck makes me a little nervous, I like constantly having _him_ in _my_ sights too.

Know what they say: Keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer.

Some of the girls tried to pull him off the couch earlier and get him to join in, failing miserably; so now he's just being ignored, and I'd say it serves him right except for the fact that he seems to _want_ to be ignored.

Though he has a point there – some of these girls are idiots. I wouldn't mind if they ignored _me_ too.

He's older than he looks, too, according to dad. These girls are probably just stupid children to him.

So, collectively, we _all_ largely ignore him, even though I'm perfectly aware that he's watching me; probably watching my every move, scrutinizing my every action or word or fake little laugh…

I know what he'd rather be doing – he'd rather be sitting across an all-night café table from me, eating cake and firing questions at me that are meaningless to anyone but him, racking up his little percentages in his head while he smiles at me and acts like he enjoys my company when I know all he's thinking about is how much he'd like to arrest me on the spot.

Still, we ignore him; and he ignores us after a while, growing disinterested in my being forced to give nearly all of these girls swift, meaningless kisses every time the bottle stops in my direction. That's all I ever seem to get dared to do – kiss them and get rewarded with high-pitched, squealing giggles. Some of the other guys get those hopeful looks on their faces every time it lands at them, perhaps hoping the girls will dare _them_ to kiss them.

The third time Matsumoto was dared to balance a pizza tray on his head for three minutes without dropping it while singing the Puffy AmiYumi song of his choice, I think he gave up hope.

So now, when Hikari spins the bottle and it lands at me, I sigh inwardly, because I know what's coming.

Well, I'm _half_-right, anyway.

She doesn't dare me straight away; she whispers something to Megumi next to her, who starts giggling wildly and nodding, and I start to get wary of what she's planning. Maybe she's going to dare me to kiss _all_ of them?

Ugh, I hope she doesn't want me to go _further_ than kissing.

There's Misa, who got looks but no brains; there's Takada, who got both; and then there's Hikari, who apparently got neither. She's doing some no-honours tech course, probably got into To-Oh on Clearing, given that it's not a very popular subject; and while she seems to share Ryuga's penchant for sweet things, she doesn't share his skill of not putting on an ounce of weight.

I've already had to kiss her once tonight, and it wasn't pleasant. Misa might be an idiot but at least she doesn't try to suffocate me.

But it turns out Hikari has something else in mind; made clear to me when she grins, giggling while Megumi nudges her, and points a finger at me.

"Hey, Light," she says, "I dare you to kiss…"

And then her finger averts from my direction towards the couch; where Ryuga is perched, methodically nibbling at his sticks of pocky.

"…_Ryuga_," she finishes with conviction; and all her stupid little girly friends start giggling like starved hyenas, while the other boys all kind of…

…go very quiet and blink a bit; mirroring my own actions, to be honest.

And Ryuga… doesn't even look up.

He must be very deep in thought about something, since he's just staring down at the carpet; or maybe that wine stain is more interesting than I'd first thought.

Or he's _pretending_ he didn't hear Hikari.

Eventually I break the awkward silence (on the boys' parts, anyway) with a small, forced laugh of my own; thinking maybe if I just pretend not to take her seriously, she'll give up.

I think I'd rather kiss Hikari again than kiss _Ryuga_.

He's _L_, for godsakes…

"Okay, Hikari, very funny," I say smoothly, sending that melting smile of mine right at her. "You don't have to be shy if you want another kiss…"

Hikari giggles (and I feel nauseous at the sound of it) wildly again, and I think I've won her over; but then—

"No, we don't want to see that, Light," Megumi interrupts, pushing Hikari aside and getting in my face. "You heard what she said. You have to kiss Ryuga, Hikari _dared_ you to."

They don't want to see that? What the heck _is_ this? If they want to see two guys kissing, why don't they go buy one of those stupid BL comics or whatever…?

"And what if I don't?" I ask coldly, changing tack and hoping that maybe I can scare them into backing down.

"Then you're Chicken," Yuki interrupts in place of Megumi, folding her arms.

I roll my eyes. Oh, _please_. Chicken? Oh, Heavens, no – what _will_ that do to my good reputation? I'll be utterly _ruined_…

I open my mouth to fire all this off and put these morons back in their place; but then I feel a slap on my shoulder, knocking me forwards a little, and then Akira is leaning over me, his expression a strange mix of sadness and triumph.

"Yuki's right, Yagami," he says gravely. "If you back out of a dare, you are hereby declared Chicken. In this instance, it's more manly to do the dare."

I shrug him off aggressively, shooting a glance at Ryuga; he still hasn't looked up, though by this point I suspect he's listening to every word without the appearance of doing so.

What the heck is going on around here, anyway? Why do all these perverts want to watch me kiss Ryuga, who is quite possibly the freakiest-looking human being I have ever seen?

"Just do the dare, Yagami," Matsumoto says; maybe just sick of me laughing at him every time he tries and fails to hit a high note in _Planet Tokyo_.

Watching them all leer at me, seeming to close in on me, I weigh up my options. I'm not as popular here at To-Oh as I was back in high school – between us, Ryuga and I are more "notorious" than anything else, since we waltzed in here with top marks and first-rate tennis skills, and though nearly all of my classmates suck up to me, I know they only do it because I'm smart and good-looking. I don't think they really _like_ me.

Well, the girls do, but it's only the looks and the reputation; and the other guys…

Well, I'm effortlessly better than them in every area that matters to them – looks, intelligence, sporting ability, luck with the ladies…

I admit I can see why they're not exactly throwing a parade in my honour.

The guys here are no different; Akira and Matsumoto and Hitome, and a few others I didn't trouble myself to learn the names of. I doubt I'm ever going to have to write their names in the Death Note, being as meaningless to me as they are… They act like they're my friends, but I know they're not. How stupid do they think I am?

The girls only want a cute little BL show, but I know the guys will use this against me, whatever I choose. If I kiss Ryuga it will be "Yagami kissed another guy" and if I refuse, it'll be "Yagami was too Chicken to do a dare at a party".

I suppose the best option is actually, as Akira said, to do the dare; since if I kiss Ryuga, he'll automatically take half the rap. If I back out, I'm the only one whose name will be circulated. At least this way I get to sucker half the blame onto that damn stalker detective…

"Fine," I sigh eventually. "I'll give you your little show…"

"It's only a dare, Yagami," Hitome mutters, though I notice he's gone a little red as he averts his eyes.

Jeez, and I thought _Ryuga_ was a pervert…

Speaking of—

"Hey, Ryuga," I say sharply, looking over at him.

He finally looks up.

"Yes, Yagami-kun?"

"Come over here." I beckon to him; but he only looks at me boredly for a moment or two before going back to his pocky.

"No, thankyou, Yagami-kun," he says flatly. "I am quite happy here."

I can sense them all glaring at me; at which I look back at them and shrug.

"_Go over to him, then,_" Yuki hisses fiercely; I sigh, finding this all to be a pointless practice.

Ryuga might be acting obvious, but he's not. I know he heard every word, and the reason he won't come over here is because he's about as interested in me kissing him as _I_ am.

I know he just heard Yuki as well; and I know the moment I get up and start in his direction, he's just going to move.

Hikari and Megumi seem to realise this as well; for I admit I didn't predict their next move, which is the both of them glancing at one another before getting up and flouncing over to the couch. Ryuga clearly didn't predict it either, for he glances up at them in horror too late – and he might be the world's greatest detective and much older than all of us and all the rest, but I know for fact that he's not very heavy, and between them the girls are able to grab him under his arms and drag him off the couch towards the game circle.

He _does_ struggle, and he's stronger than he looks, but by the time he breaks loose, he's already in the centre of the circle, and he only lands on his hands and knees right in front of me.

"Kiss him quick, Light," Megumi orders, "before he gets away."

I think Ryuga's already planning to make an escape, sitting back in his usual position, from which I know he can quickly push upwards and run for it.

I suppose I could just be deliberately a beat to slow; let him escape, because then it wouldn't be my fault—

But then Megumi and Hikari collectively grab hold of him and practically throw him at me, and it'll _look_ like I did it deliberately if he manages to get away now.

"Come _on_, Light!" Yuki demands; and a few of the other girls all lean forward, while Hikari and Megumi stand right behind Ryuga so that he can't leap backwards away from me.

"It's only a stupid little dare, Ryuga," I sigh, taking hold of his shoulders. I lean towards him, noticing how he shrinks back as far as my grip will allow him to, but I can still get him—

"You have to kiss him on the mouth, Light," Megumi says, interrupting, and making me look up away from Ryuga and at her.

"And he _has_ to kiss back," Hikari adds; and then they both start giggling again.

I think they're getting their hopes up a bit now, given Ryuga's highly uncooperative behaviour; even _I'm_ planning now to just kiss him quickly before he can react and then let him go.

I avert my gaze from them, going back to Ryuga—

Just as he rams all of his weight forwards against me, knocking me onto my back; startled and winded, I can do nothing except let him go, and the second I do so, he's off me – though I grab him around the waist and bring him down to the floor as well with a hard thud.

"Light, get him, _get him_!" Megumi squeals, she and Hikari scrambling forwards, probably to grab Ryuga again.

He's lost his temper by this point, though – he kicks me off, the blow jarring against my shoulder, and then he's gone, the door slamming behind him.

Hissing in pain, I sit up, rubbing my shoulder. Bastard; any harder and he'd probably have dislocated it…

"_Light!_" Those two stupid girls are _still_ at it, grabbing at _me_ now and pulling to my feet, even though I'm heavier than Ryuga. "Go and get him and bring him back!"

"What…?" I glance wearily at them. "Hikari, Megumi… you've scared him off. Even if I _did_ catch him he'd never come back with me."

"_Drag_ him back!" Yuki says, standing up. "You have to finish the dare!"

All three of them shove me towards the door.

"And you have to bring him back and kiss him in front of us," Megumi adds. "No just coming back without him saying you caught him and kissed him, but then he ran off."

I sigh deeply and snatch up my jacket; I really have no intention of coming back at all, actually. This 'party' was boring me from the beginning and now they're just handing me an Exit card, reputation be damned.

"No, leave your jacket," Yuki snaps, snatching it from me. "_You're_ not running out on us too."

Left in Checkmate, I have nothing else to do but stalk out of the room to go look for stupid Ryuga. Maybe he's hiding in a locker somewhere…

Though I can't help but shudder as I close the door and distinctly hear Hikari whisper to her stupid little friends about how hot I am.

Only in your _dreams_, Hikari.

—

I do honestly search for Ryuga in the deserted university building for about half an hour, but I don't find him; even when Ryuk drifts back to join me and helps out, snickering to himself as he floats through walls and ceilings.

Maybe he just likes the thought of Kira hunting for L in a dark, empty building; with no-one around to hear the bastard scream when I eventually find him…

I'm not going to kiss him, if I stumble upon him; which I don't think I will. He's probably gone back to his hotel. Can't say I blame him. I'm going to go home now too, I think. Too bad about my jacket – it was one of my favourites, and I know that if I don't go back for it, one of the girls will claim it and probably wear it to class tomorrow.

Which will start a whole load of _other_ rumours…

Still, sacrifices must be made. Whether I find Ryuga or I don't, I'm not going back up there either way.

"Come on, Ryuk," I call finally. "Let's go."

"What about your friend?" Ryuk rasps, gliding up through the floor to join me.

"Ryuga's not my friend," I say coolly. "And he's obviously not here, anyway."

We leave the university building and grounds in silence; though I send Ryuk over to the tennis courts to see if Ryuga is lurking around over there, whacking a ball against the wall like I've seen him do before.

He's a skilled player; playing against him was much harder than any other match I've ever played. It took every ounce of my skill to beat him – and even then, though I don't like to admit it, I suspect that he _may_ have lost on purpose…

I just can't read Ryuga at all. It's one of the things I don't like about him – even though it admittedly makes him more interesting than the likes of Hikari and Megumi and Matsumoto and all those other idiots…

I don't like him, and I know he only hangs around me because he's waiting for me to slip up so he can hand me a "Go To Jail" card, but I'd still rather be "friends" with him than _them_. At least he can hold an intelligent conversation, making him about the only person I can really _talk_ to.

He's not my friend; but I guess he's the closest thing I've ever had to one. A _real_ one, anyway.

Except now maybe I've ruined it. Maybe he won't want to be friends with me anymore, in case I try to kiss him again; and maybe I'm just waiting for a chance to get his real name from him so I can get rid of him once and for all, but I think I would miss him in the meantime.

Ryuk comes back, shaking his head; and I shrug and shove my hands into my pockets as we leave the university grounds. It's cold out this late at night, and I notice the absence of my jacket. I wish I'd gone back for it, but they'd never have let me leave if I'd returned without Ryuga in a headlock.

Idiots.

"Ryuk," I say expressionlessly, "remind me never to go to a To-Oh student "party" again."

Ryuk only laughs in reply; but I'm used to his dumb audacity by now.

Halfway home, I hear my cell phone go off in my pocket. At first I think to ignore it, since I assume it to be Misa – though I pull it out anyway to look at the caller ID.

_Ryuga Hideki_.

I blink down at it, surprised; why is he calling me, and why now, so long after he made his escape from the party?

I answer it mostly out of burning curiosity, wondering what he wants; turning away from Ryuk.

"Ryuga?"

"Hello, Yagami-kun," I hear Ryuga reply over the connection, his voice calm and quiet. "You are alone?"

"Yeah, I left the party just after you. They sent me to look for you."

He gives a soft little laugh.

"Evidently, your search turned up no results."

"Where are you, anyway?" I ask, though I already know the answer.

"I have returned to my hotel."

"Running out on us?" I can't resist the jab.

He only laughs again; and I swat irritably at Ryuk, who is leaning close to the receiver of my phone so he can hear Ryuga too.

"Am I to be blamed for such a defence mechanism? That party was making me very uncomfortable."

"Me too," I admit. "That's why I left."

"You are at home?"

"En route, actually."

"How fortunate." He pauses. "I wonder if you'd mind stopping by my hotel on your way."

I blink, even though he can't see me.

"Why?"

"Oh, I just want to ask you a few things," he replied vaguely.

I sigh inwardly; Kira-related things, no doubt.

"Can't you just ask me now, over the phone?"

"It's highly confidential information, Yagami-kun. I'd rather not over a traceable cell phone line."

I sigh again, realising he has a point.

"Okay, okay… Which hotel is it?"

"The Palace Hotel. It's over on Fifth."

"What room number?"

"Don't worry, I'll have someone bring you up."

Hmm. So he's not giving me the number. Interesting.

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

I snap the phone shut without waiting for him to say goodbye. The Palace Hotel – I know the one. It's a huge big white thing, really expensive. The Japanese government must be paying to put him up in a place like that, in return for catching Kira.

Shame they're not interested in putting Kira up in a place like that instead. After all, I'm the one doing the _real_ service to Japan…

"Do they have apples in this hotel thingy, Light?" Ryuk asks, darting after me as I take a detour from my usual route to get to Ryuga's hotel.

"I don't know, Ryuk. I've never been in there."

It takes about ten minutes to get there; I could be home by now, but instead I find myself stepping out of the cold into a marble-and-red-carpet foyer, blinking up in surprise at the sheer size of the crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling of the reception.

Ryuk whistles appreciatively, but no-one else can hear him and I'm an expert at ignoring him by now.

I start towards the reception desk to ask about being taken up to Ryuga's room, but I'm intercepted by an attendant.

"Light Yagami?" He asks, barring my way.

"Yeah," I reply, suspicious. "How did you know?"

"One of our guests rang down to request that you be brought up to his room on your arrival, and he gave a very accurate description. Even told us what you'd be wearing."

"Which would be…?"

"Jeans, white shirt, cream cricket jumper, no jacket." He tips his hat. "If you'd come with me, then."

Damn that Ryuga… I'm not surprised he knew I wouldn't be wearing a jacket, though Ryuk obviously finds it more amusing than me. I'd like to hiss at him to get lost for a while, since I know he'll only distract me while Ryuga's interrogating me, but I can't right now – the attendant would probably think I was talking to _him_.

I should have known Ryuga wouldn't be one for vertigo – his room is about fifteen floors up, and the elevator journey is a long, awkward one. I think for a moment that it would probably be more interesting if I were to slip the tiny shred of Death Note from my watch and nonchalantly touch the attendant with it so that he could see Ryuk skulking behind me…

Eventually the elevator lurches to a halt and opens, and the attendant leads me along the corridor to Room 409.

"This is his room," he says, tipping his hat again. "Have a pleasant evening."

Ryuk snickers again as the attendant leaves me outside the door; and maybe I might find his words funnier if I hadn't been coerced into attempting to kiss Ryuga less than an hour ago.

"Ryuk," I hiss, masking my whisper even so with my knock. "I'm not comfortable having you around Ryuga. I know he can't see you, but if he ever got the pieces of Death Note in my watch or wallet, you'd be visible to him, and I think your sudden appearance would _probably_ heighten his suspicion."

Ryuk shrugs.

"Point taken, Light. See ya later."

He slopes off, vanishing through a wall just as Ryuga opens the door a little and peeks out at me; and, on seeing that it's me, he opens it a little wider.

"Yagami-kun," he says blithely. "Thankyou for coming." He steps back to give me room to enter. "Won't you come in?"

I sidle past him into the room, wondering what the hell is so important at this time of night; and exactly why he demanded that I come here after he ran out on the party because I was dared to kiss him…

Honestly, if he was really so uncomfortable with it, why does he not seem to mind being _alone_ with me…?

I'm about to turn back towards him and ask him all those things; but for a moment my voice fails me as I get a look at the _room_.

Well, I say 'room'; it's not a room. It's a whole _suite_. A whole suite, for just one person – for Ryuga, who probably hasn't even gone into all of the rooms _in_ the suite. Clearly he hasn't even gone _near_ the king-sized bed, making the coffee-table his permanent-and-one-and-only haunt, by the looks of it.

"Ryuga," I get out finally, tearing my eyes from the splendour of the suite and turning to him as he shuts the door. "About earlier—"

"Ah, you're going to apologise." He walks past me, hands in pockets. "Please don't. We both know the reason for your actions."

"Hikari," I say darkly.

"Oh?" He sounds surprised as he goes back to the coffee table and picks up a cup and saucer, which I guess he must have left to answer the door to me. "I was going to say _pride_, actually, Yagami-kun."

I blink at him, thrown off.

"…_Pride_, Ryuga…?"

"Mm." He sips at his tea, clearly decides it isn't sweet enough, picks up another sugar cube, drops it in and stirs it up; all the while with his gaze fixed on me. "It's not in your nature to back down when challenged. That is an assumption I make about you based on your behaviour, anyway."

Ryuga steps up into an armchair and settles into his regular position, expertly balancing his tea; and then he waves a hand vaguely over the other seats.

"Will you sit down, Yagami-kun?"

I oblige, crossing the floor and sinking into a chair opposite him.

"Can I offer you anything?" He asks expressionlessly.

"I'm fine, thanks. I ate at the party."

"Of course." He sips at his tea again, falling silent; and I sit with the appearance of patience, growing more frustrated by the second, wishing he'd just come out and say whatever it is that he wants to say so that I can go home.

"The reason I was able to come to that conclusion about you," Ryuga says eventually, performing a loop back to our previous topic, "is because it is a characteristic of my own as well. It was easy to recognize in you, because of that."

I nod.

"You and I, Yagami-kun," he continues, "think on a level above ordinary people. It is not arrogant to admit that; it is simply fact." He gives a sudden small smile, his gaze never moving from me. "Though the party probably proved that; don't you think?"

I think he wants me to laugh, at least just a little, so I do, performing it to perfection.

"You're right, Ryuga." And we _do_ sound arrogant right now – I know that, and he knows that.

But we also both know that he's right. We're different from everyone else, we—

"However…" He interrupts my thought chain, his voice curious. "…Do you know what your persistent behaviour tonight reminded me of?"

"No," I say warily.

"Well, I am going to assume at this point that, if I were to mention "Lind. L. Tailor", you would know who I was talking about."

I sense the immediate danger concealed in those words. That's Ryuga – go straight for the jugular. It's not wise to play dumb, at least not in this particular situation, so I nod.

"Sure. That was broadcast on every channel. You got a criminal scheduled to die to pretend to be you to see if Kira could kill without direct contact. Kira stupidly rose to your bait and gave you the answer you wanted."

Ryuga nods slowly.

"Interesting, though… that Kira only killed Tailor after being provoked." He sips at his tea again. "It's was Tailor's direct challenging of Kira that caused his death, not his appearance as "L" alone."

I nod again, knowing that I'll have to be very careful here.

"Still, Ryuga…" I give another perfect little laugh. "You can't exactly compare Kira's determination to kill L to my determination to finish a dare at a stupid party…"

Ryuga shrugs.

"I suppose not. It just struck me as interesting…"

I sigh inwardly. I just don't get Ryuga sometimes…

"Anyway," I say, "I know you said not to apologise, but I am sorry, okay? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It just got out of control, that's—"

"_You_ didn't make me uncomfortable, Yagami-kun," L interrupts calmly.

I halt up.

"I… _what_…?" I stare at him.

"You heard me. It wasn't you or your actions which made me uncomfortable. It was the others, those girls…" He tilts his head as he looks at me. "I watched you play that game with them, and I am surprised that you allowed them to treat you in such a way; demanding kisses from you—"

"It's only a game, Ryuga."

"Yes. That's true." He looks up at the ornate ceiling. "Yet those girls were taking it so very seriously. I wonder… Do you think such a game was invented for people who would otherwise never be kissed at all?"

"That's cruel."

But I smile; and he's smiling too. And here I thought he _lacked_ a working sense of humour…

Still, after that, silence falls again, and I check my watch.

"What's the matter, Yagami-kun?"

"It's getting late." I glance back up at him. "Are you… I mean, did you ask everything you wanted to…?"

"Oh. Yes. I suppose I did."

I stand up.

"Then I should be going. Thanks for inviting me up here."

I start towards the door.

"You're so very polite, Yagami-kun," Ryuga notes; he puts his cup aside and hops out of his chair to follow me. "But not as predictable as I first thought."

I pause, looking back over my shoulder at him.

"_Predictable_, Ryuga?"

He nods.

"I confess to thinking that, were I to invite you up here, even though there was no-one left to witness the deed… you would attempt to finish the dare."

"You thought I'd try to _kiss_ you?" I say incredulously.

He gives another blithe nod; utterly shameless.

"It was only a hypothesis based on your tendency to act when provoked."

"So it was another Kira test?" I snap.

He shrugs.

"Partly. I guess it was just for fun, too."

I sigh in disgust.

"_Right_. I'm starting to think you _wanted_ me to kiss you."

"Maybe I did." His expression is completely deadpan. "Maybe I do."

"What? You _ran_ _away_!"

"Because those girls were watching us."

"Well, too bad. The offer is now expired," I snap. "Goodnight, Ryuga."

He takes the hint and opens the door for me, through which I stalk out into the hall; or, at least, I have every intention of getting that far, except that Ryuga grabs my sleeve and pulls me backwards.

Turning to him to tell him to get the _hell_ off is a mistake.

He moves like a cobra striking, kissing me the way I planned to kiss him earlier – hard and fast, giving me no time to react.

I don't know why he's doing this. Did he truly want me to kiss him, or is he only screwing me around, trying to get a reaction out of me? Or perhaps it's challenge of his own; that he'll take on anything that I will, and _beat_ me at it? I just don't know with Ryuga – I can't read him at all…

I don't ask him for an explanation when he lets me go. I simply back away from him, watching him smirk and lean his slim figure up against the doorway, hands in his pockets again.

In the end, I simply turn from him in silence, starting to walk away.

"Yagami-kun," he says.

"_What_?" I seethe, turning back to him again; though this time I'm quite a safe distance from him.

One of his hands comes back out of his pocket and he deftly flings something silver at me, which I catch without even really thinking about it.

"There's a vending machine downstairs in the lobby," he says smoothly, "that sells bottle of Coca-Cola."

And then he goes back into the room and shuts the door.

I open my hand to find a glinting one hundred yen coin.

I have a choice here; I don't have to go get the Coke. I could just go home and give him his stupid yen back tomorrow.

Still, the Coca-Cola machine is decidedly closer than home…

The main point is, I didn't learn anything new tonight; only underlined what I already knew:

I just can't read Ryuga at all.

* * *

Yes, it's not a yaoi – you have to wait for _Poison Apple_ for that kind of malarkey…

Still, I enjoyed writing from Light's POV; _Poison Apple_ sort of takes events from Light's perspective too, but it's a third-person narrative, not first-person, so this was pretty fun to write. :)

I also had fun naming all of Light's stupid university friends…

Will he or won't he go and get the Coke…? O.o

_Poison Apple_. Soon. I promise.

Happy New Year!

RobinRocks xXx


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